Dear Editor:

As holiday cards begin arriving, many residents will notice envelopes decorated with the American Lung Association’s Christmas Seals, a critical cornerstone in the fight for healthy lungs and healthy air for more than 100 years. 

The Christmas Seals campaign was first introduced in 1907 as a way to stamp out tuberculosis. 

Today, the seal continues to be an important means of funding our mission to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.

While the Christmas Seal looks like a postage stamp, it has no monetary value; yet, the donations that stand behind each seal are invaluable. 

The seal helps fund our ongoing efforts to combat lung diseases like lung cancer, asthma, influenza and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Throughout the years, the Christmas Seal has supported our work to fund lung disease research, eliminate smoking on airplanes, strengthen the Clean Air Act and help generations quit smoking.

As we celebrate the spirit of giving this holiday season, the Lung Association wishes to say ‘thank you’ to all our supporters, both old and new, who have used the Christmas Seal as a way to join our fight against lung disease, the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

Your continued support gives us hope that one day we will live in a world free of lung disease. To those who have not supported Christmas Seals in the past, we invite you to begin a new holiday tradition. 

Visit www.christmasseals.org to learn more.

Jeff Seyler
American Lung Association of the Northeast
Augusta